Excess Moisture (dripping from overhead)

[TomLewis]

Hey fellow sailors,
I'll get to it, the boat flooded, luckily the yard person was still there and was able to pump the bilge.The bilge pump quit working, the head was left in the wet flush so thinking the syphon action from someone using left it in the wrong position. Regardless, when I arrived, the overhead was dripping. I cleaned and dried. Turned on a small portable heater to help dry it out. Now that all water has been evacutated and bilge is dry, all opening ports, hatches are dripping. Maybe the moisture level is still high? I have a little ventilation. Temp is cold here in GA.

[senormechanico]

Open up the boat.
Fans. You don't need heat, or at least if it's not freezing.
You can spend a LOT on heat, with small improvement.
Just keep moving in new air.
IT WILL GET BETTER !

[a64pilot]

Definitely open a hatch or two, and if you can heat it, it will dry out faster than if you don’t.
Luckily you have good weather for drying it out for the next couple of days.
Where is the boat?
You need to treat for mold, even if you don’t have it yet, at least wipe everything down with vinegar, that helps, but if you can get some Concorbian I think it’s called, that works well, it’s sold sometimes in Home Depot.
Treat as a preventative, cause you don’t want it to start growing, it’s a lot harder to deal with then.
Yes you will waste some money on power, but not all that much as you can’t draw much power and it will help dry it out faster.
I’m in Brunswick right now, with the heat on and a hatch open, relative humidity inside of the Boat is 40%. It’s the combination of heat and ventilation in my opinion that dries out a boat.

[Sailmonkey]

I would attack with a space heater and a dehumidifier. It will cost a little in electricity, but will really dry out the boat.

[deblen]

Suggest you install a bronze garboard drain.

Installing Garboard Drain

[W3GAC]

Even RVers recommend a dehumidifier set at about 50%. That’s low enough to ‘suck out’ remaining moisture. A Air passing through a dehumidifier is first first chilled to mid 30s to 40s that condenses the humidity then passes through the evaporator which is the other end of the evaporative process which re-heats the air. Since the cool/ heat process is not 100 % efficient there is actually surplus heat in dehumidifier operation... which works to your advantage here. But the science of extraction of water from soaked ‘stuff’ suggests you really should also run a heater/ warm up the boat. Warm air will evaporate moisture much faster and when the warm moist air contacts the cool condenser coils of the dehumidifier the difference in temps of moisture laden air and cool coils will more quickly extract the boat moisture. If you haven’t run a dehumidifier before, you won’t believe how fast moister is being pulled out of the air! It will be a steady trickle out the drain (into the bilge/ or possibly directly outside if placed high enough inside to run the drain out (cardboard insert to port/ companion way. It would only take a few days to dry it out if you warm the boat up/ run the dehumidifier/ open all cabinets/ floor accessed/ have an additional fan on at least medium speed blowing air around. Cost:
- Dehumidifier 1kw/h
- Heater 1kw/h
- Fan. .1kw/h
=====
Total. 2.1kw/h

So at say $ 0.15/ kWh that’s about $ .32 per hour run time... or about $7.56 per day... and $15.13 for two days. Even if it were to take longer... say 10 days... $31.50, it’s a small price to pay to head off a later long bout with mold/ mildew and possible interior wood delimitation issues, riot of cushions, and possible corrosion issues to boat’s wiring and electronics.

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by TomLewis

Hey fellow sailors,
I'll get to it, the boat flooded, luckily the yard person was still there and was able to pump the bilge.The bilge pump quit working, the head was left in the wet flush so thinking the syphon action from someone using left it in the wrong position. Regardless, when I arrived, the overhead was dripping. I cleaned and dried. Turned on a small portable heater to help dry it out. Now that all water has been evacutated and bilge is dry, all opening ports, hatches are dripping. Maybe the moisture level is still high? I have a little ventilation. Temp is cold here in GA.

Mold and fungus thank you! You've created a perfect sauna for them to thrive in. Now just step back and watch the weird science experiment grow!

[TomLewis]

Thank you all, I believe I have enough info to remedy the situation. First time it has happened. Great timely inputs as usual from this forum.

[Fence Man]

Originally Posted by W3GAC

Even RVers recommend a dehumidifier set at about 50%. That’s low enough to ‘suck out’ remaining moisture. A Air passing through a dehumidifier is first first chilled to mid 30s to 40s that condenses the humidity then passes through the evaporator which is the other end of the evaporative process which re-heats the air. Since the cool/ heat process is not 100 % efficient there is actually surplus heat in dehumidifier operation... which works to your advantage here. But the science of extraction of water from soaked ‘stuff’ suggests you really should also run a heater/ warm up the boat. Warm air will evaporate moisture much faster and when the warm moist air contacts the cool condenser coils of the dehumidifier the difference in temps of moisture laden air and cool coils will more quickly extract the boat moisture. If you haven’t run a dehumidifier before, you won’t believe how fast moister is being pulled out of the air! It will be a steady trickle out the drain (into the bilge/ or possibly directly outside if placed high enough inside to run the drain out (cardboard insert to port/ companion way. It would only take a few days to dry it out if you warm the boat up/ run the dehumidifier/ open all cabinets/ floor accessed/ have an additional fan on at least medium speed blowing air around. Cost:
- Dehumidifier 1kw/h
- Heater 1kw/h
- Fan. .1kw/h
=====
Total. 2.1kw/h

So at say $ 0.15/ kWh that’s about $ .32 per hour run time... or about $7.56 per day... and $15.13 for two days. Even if it were to take longer... say 10 days... $31.50, it’s a small price to pay to head off a later long bout with mold/ mildew and possible interior wood delimitation issues, riot of cushions, and possible corrosion issues to boat’s wiring and electronics.

I agree with everything but the math.

[Al B]

Good luck , I am fighting mold & mildew in cabin
I received some good advice with my issue on this forum
I am based in Fl . Boat was laid up 6 months . 125 miles from me . My visits too check on boat was few . Upon completion boat is back at marina . Entering cabin the mildew smell was over whelming .
Boat was subject too daily summer storms , Irma .
A tiny crack in weather stripping in port whole window allowed water too enter gathering into closet closest too window.
In cabinet was clothes hanging and bottom of cabinet was 8 large beach towels .
Black mold took over all the wet towels, then growth on walls within cabinet
Found bleach mixed with water was the best .
There is still a mildew smell . Slow cleaning process area by area .
I am hoping growth is not under areas such as cabin ceiling which is vinyl or carpet in aft cabin ceilings All bedding had plastic covering foam and covering is a heavy vinyl material or leather easily wiped.
I have 4 damp rid containers . Mildew is so bad after few days the crystals meld together .
Its a slow process area by area .
Wife says stop being cheap call the guy, Just might take her up on it but we are not talking a huge boat 30 feet main cabin and small aft , POWER Cruiser, they will not take their time, feel they will only do surface not taking apart anything .
I am in FL and on boat all the time. Purchased a fairly large dehumidifier, other day, too large for boat , will search for a small counter type but on a mission too correct this smell
Slow process , good luck

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Al B

Good luck , I am fighting mold & mildew in cabin
I received some good advice with my issue on this forum
I am based in Fl . Boat was laid up 6 months . 125 miles from me . My visits too check on boat was few . Upon completion boat is back at marina . Entering cabin the mildew smell was over whelming .
Boat was subject too daily summer storms , Irma .
A tiny crack in weather stripping in port whole window allowed water too enter gathering into closet closest too window.
In cabinet was clothes hanging and bottom of cabinet was 8 large beach towels .
Black mold took over all the wet towels, then growth on walls within cabinet
Found bleach mixed with water was the best .
There is still a mildew smell . Slow cleaning process area by area .
I am hoping growth is not under areas such as cabin ceiling which is vinyl or carpet in aft cabin ceilings All bedding had plastic covering foam and covering is a heavy vinyl material or leather easily wiped.
I have 4 damp rid containers . Mildew is so bad after few days the crystals meld together .
Its a slow process area by area .
Wife says stop being cheap call the guy, Just might take her up on it but we are not talking a huge boat 30 feet main cabin and small aft , POWER Cruiser, they will not take their time, feel they will only do surface not taking apart anything .
I am in FL and on boat all the time. Purchased a fairly large dehumidifier, other day, too large for boat , will search for a small counter type but on a mission too correct this smell
Slow process , good luck

I had one of these on my 34-foot catamaran, just for drying it out at the dock, and was very happy with it. Unlike compressor types, they use very little power and will operate in cold temperatures. I fitted the tank with a drain to a sink (above the waterline drain).


Sail Delmarva: 100 Best--Chapter 12

[zeehag]

you will notice a huge change in condensation inside boat once you decide to use tarps over top of cabin. functions as insulation and reduces the temperature difference resulting in drier boat. makes like an attic fro a house. open hatches some, i did 1 inch open, tarp, and warm. no wet. i used a line between mast and backstay on my sloop in cold winter, and on my ketch i use 2 lines, one above mainboom mast to mast, and one under boom mast to mast. the underboom line remains, even sailing, for other uses, and over boom is only for when in port a while.
by the way--dehumidification usually expels warm air. in summer it is not so desirable, but in winter, even the computer air exhaust is welcomed.

[MarkusK]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

I would attack with a space heater and a dehumidifier. It will cost a little in electricity, but will really dry out the boat.

Unless you can keep the inside temp of your boat above 70°F, the dehumidifier will not work efficiently. (It's cold in GA at the moment)

As others have said, ventilate!

[deblen]

The inside air needs to be warm in order to absorb as much dampness as possible.
A dehumidifier sucks in this warm damp air,"freezes" the water out of it,reheats the "dried" air & exhausts this warm dry air back into the boat.
Around & around it goes-the air getting dryer with each pass thru the dehumidifier.
This warm dry air absorbs more dampness from the solid objects & so on.
None of the original boat air needs to leave the boat. This is why a dehumidifier is relatively efficient & fast.

How do dehumidifiers work? - Explain that Stuff

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Heating-...s/N-5yc1vZc4l8

Cheers/ Len

[MarkusK]

Originally Posted by Al B

Good luck , I am fighting mold & mildew in cabin
I received some good advice with my issue on this forum
I am based in Fl . Boat was laid up 6 months . 125 miles from me . My visits too check on boat was few . Upon completion boat is back at marina . Entering cabin the mildew smell was over whelming .
Boat was subject too daily summer storms , Irma .
A tiny crack in weather stripping in port whole window allowed water too enter gathering into closet closest too window.
In cabinet was clothes hanging and bottom of cabinet was 8 large beach towels .
Black mold took over all the wet towels, then growth on walls within cabinet
Found bleach mixed with water was the best .
There is still a mildew smell . Slow cleaning process area by area .
I am hoping growth is not under areas such as cabin ceiling which is vinyl or carpet in aft cabin ceilings All bedding had plastic covering foam and covering is a heavy vinyl material or leather easily wiped.
I have 4 damp rid containers . Mildew is so bad after few days the crystals meld together .
Its a slow process area by area .
Wife says stop being cheap call the guy, Just might take her up on it but we are not talking a huge boat 30 feet main cabin and small aft , POWER Cruiser, they will not take their time, feel they will only do surface not taking apart anything .
I am in FL and on boat all the time. Purchased a fairly large dehumidifier, other day, too large for boat , will search for a small counter type but on a mission too correct this smell
Slow process , good luck

Mold. BTDT. My boat was buttoned up on the hard for 5 years when I bought it. The smell was bad. I knew that anything porous had to be tossed out:
1- Curtains
2- Carpets
3- Pillows and cushions
4- Plastic dishes, cups, etc.
5- Fake plant (yes there was a fake plant in the boat)
6- 12 v fan, vacuum, etc (the smell was in the windings)
7- Playing cards
8- Nav charts
9- Mattresses (washed/aired out the covers but tossed the foam)
10- Sails (they stunk too, but we kept them!)

This improved things considerably, but only when I took a pressure washer to the inside of the boat, did we feel comfortable enough to sleep in it. Wash everything. Try to get to the inside hull. I will do it again this spring and likely every spring.